Indians' Zimmer breaks bone in hand, to see specialist Monday
It wasn't all celebrations in Cleveland on Sunday night.
Although the mood in the Indians' clubhouse was undoubtedly joyful after winning their 18th game in a row, the team may have suffered a major loss in the process. Manager Terry Francona revealed to reporters postgame that rookie outfielder Bradley Zimmer suffered a broken bone in his left hand during a headfirst slide, via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
The Indians said Zimmer fractured the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand.
Francona added that the team won't know any more about Zimmer's status until some time later this week, when he's examined by hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham.
Zimmer sustained the injury during his at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. After hitting a ground ball to Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, he tried to beat the defender to the bag by diving in headfirst.
"He got stepped on, on his finger," Francona said of Zimmer, according to Cleveland.com. "He had a pretty good gash on his finger."
Zimmer was called out on the play, and was later replaced in center field by Greg Allen.
The 24-year-old is hitting .241/.307/.385 with eight homers, 39 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases in 100 games for the Indians this season.